Vivemus ad tabernam, taberna vivere —

The Dealmaster: SSDs, monitors, laptops, and more!

The latest neat gear, picked out by Ars through our partnership with LogicBuy.

Greetings on this fine Monday morning, Arsians! It is I, the Dealmaster Himself, and I present to you the next installment in our ongoing partnership with the value-obsessed dwarves of LogicBuy. Each week, they wield their powerful dweomer magic and summon from the earth monstrous piles of goods tagged with ludicrously low prices, and I, the Dealmaster, choose from their wares only the finest and most excellent things to present to the discerning Ars Technica audience.

Below are the lowest prices on the neatest kit. As before, these deals will remain here for one week, and then will be replaced with new deals on new things.

Lee Hutchinson
Lee is the Senior Technology Editor at Ars and oversees gadget, automotive, IT, and culture content. He also knows stuff about enterprise storage, security, and manned space flight. Lee is based in Houston, TX. Emaillee.hutchinson@arstechnica.com//Twitter@Lee_Ars

A crucial SSD is in no way a good deal. I had my m4 replaced under warranty 6 times. It, and all of the refurb replacements, lasted an average of 3-4 months and then failed completely. I switched to an OWC SSD and haven't looked back since.

Crucial may be willing to replace their horribly defective SSD's, but don't trust them for any critical data. Thankfully I always keep 3 redundant backups of my computer in case of that sort of thing or I would be more pissed with crucial than I already am.

I'll ask again because my comment was buried in the last one of these....

Please find a different way of presenting these deals. Their appearance as a standard headline (esp in the list view) is bothersome. Toms went this direction and it was the harbinger of a shift of balance of signal to noise. I'm no longer a reader there (although I do still check back for the CPU/GPU charts, but that's usually a direct link from a search so I avoid the front page and all the "headlines" entirely).

Perhaps a sidebar similar to how Etc posts used to be displayed. That would also have the bonus of being visible in articles and not just from the front page.

Please and thanks.

edit to add: and as requested by others before, please don't use link shorteners. It's valuable information to know where you're going to land on the interwebs before you click a link -- doubly true if you're at work. These don't link directly to logicbuy and the website or entity actually offering the deal would be good information as well.

OCZ SSD? It may be a deal, but you still might end up paying the price.

Are OCZ's not reliable now (or ever)? I haven't been in the market for a few years, but I've been running on a OCZ 64gb ssd for over 2 years now in my main box with no issues. I know anecdotes aren't data... It seemed to have good ratings at the time, but could have been to early for issues to arise.

OCZ SSD? It may be a deal, but you still might end up paying the price.

Are OCZ's not reliable now (or ever)? I haven't been in the market for a few years, but I've been running on a OCZ 64gb ssd for over 2 years now in my main box with no issues. I know anecdotes aren't data... It seemed to have good ratings at the time, but could have been to early for issues to arise.

Please find a different way of presenting these deals. Their appearance as a standard headline (esp in the list view) is bothersome.

I'm sorry you don't like it. At the time I write this, 8,000 people have read the story. That's a strong sign to me that many people do like these, and we are going to continue to run them through the end of the year. They are clearly marked with the "Dealmaster" headline, and therefore should be easy to ignore.

Quote:

and as requested by others before, please don't use link shorteners.

The short version is this: it's the best tracking system available to us, to see what people do and don't like.The bit.ly reporting suite is rather great, and it's what LogicBuy uses. We've asked them for an alternative, but it may not be coming.

The short version is this: it's the best tracking system available to us, to see what people do and don't like.The bit.ly reporting suite is rather great, and it's what LogicBuy uses. We've asked them for an alternative, but it may not be coming.

Blocked at my work, can't follow any of the links.Guess I should go.. work.. I guess.

It would be nice to have a simple (CompUSA) or (Joes Online WebStore) tag next to each so we know where the hell you're sending us. Especially since the links themselves are just click trackers and then shortened, it kind of goes against the entire, "don't click on strange links on the web!" practice that I and many others follow.

I understand it's a partnership with the LogicBuy people, but it would be nice is all.

If anyone wants to bother with it, http://www.unshorten.com will show you the info, although most don't head directly to their respective sites, but instead are tracking links that redirect you (which is understandable here).

It would be awesome if you had deals on actually useful (4:3 or 16:10) screens. 27" with 1080p is a TV not a screen.

I don't really get this objection. For a start, 1920 x 1080 (16:9) is the most common resolution for a 27" monitor. For example, Newegg has 52 27" monitors and 40 of those are 1920 x 1080. In fact, 16:9 is by far the most common aspect ratio for all monitors of at least 1920 pixels in width. Again, from Newegg: 32 monitors @ 16:10 versus 302 monitors @ 16:9.

In any case, at 1920 wide, what is it about losing 120 pixels in height that makes a monitor go from useful to not useful? One could easily argue the opposite: given how many people watch video on their computers these days, it's more useful to have a screen that uses native 1080p than one that doesn't.

Please find a different way of presenting these deals. Their appearance as a standard headline (esp in the list view) is bothersome.

I'm sorry you don't like it. At the time I write this, 8,000 people have read the story. That's a strong sign to me that many people do like these, and we are going to continue to run them through the end of the year. They are clearly marked with the "Dealmaster" headline, and therefore should be easy to ignore.

Quote:

and as requested by others before, please don't use link shorteners.

The short version is this: it's the best tracking system available to us, to see what people do and don't like.The bit.ly reporting suite is rather great, and it's what LogicBuy uses. We've asked them for an alternative, but it may not be coming.

Thanks Ken. I don't disagree that there is a "market" here. I, too, am interested in curated deals picked by someone in Orbiting HQ. My issue* is the presentation. Yes, I could pass by "Dealmaster" headlines, but my issue is that it is presented as a headline. Not only do I think you could present a less "compromised" image by altering the presentation of these deals, but they could be more effective as well. Thanks for the discussion.

* And apparently this is an issue for others as well -- my original comment is the highest ranked comment in the thread right now, so clearly other Arsians would like some type of change here. Again, not asking for a halt, just a slight change of course.

Please find a different way of presenting these deals. Their appearance as a standard headline (esp in the list view) is bothersome.

I'm sorry you don't like it. At the time I write this, 8,000 people have read the story. That's a strong sign to me that many people do like these, and we are going to continue to run them through the end of the year. They are clearly marked with the "Dealmaster" headline, and therefore should be easy to ignore.

I promise you, at least one of the 8000 only clicked the article to try out this new voting system and vote up anybody who seemed to be complaining. Don't let your own bias influence you analysis of a metric as blunt as this too much. Having seen something absolutely does not mean it was approved of. This is a bad road, and is exactly the sort of failure of content that has driven many other websites to lose readers and ultimately fold. You are trying to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, and that never ends well.

I've had to go through the RMA process for my OCZ Agility SSD three times in the last two years. Each time I've had to spend a couple hours on their website/emailing them, pay ~$10 for shipping it to them, and be without an important drive (since that is where my OS typically lives) for 1-2 weeks. Super annoying.

Please find a different way of presenting these deals. Their appearance as a standard headline (esp in the list view) is bothersome.

I'm sorry you don't like it. At the time I write this, 8,000 people have read the story. That's a strong sign to me that many people do like these, and we are going to continue to run them through the end of the year.

7999, I just clicked so I could comment about how it's US centric. And if you're interested in getting views I imagine the title "[current pop celebrity] in nude tech-related scandal!" will also get you lots of views. Eyeball metrics aren't everything...

Also, let's not piss about, this is advertising, not content. It's not a story, it's an inline ad.

It would be awesome if you had deals on actually useful (4:3 or 16:10) screens. 27" with 1080p is a TV not a screen.

I don't really get this objection. For a start, 1920 x 1080 (16:9) is the most common resolution for a 27" monitor. For example, Newegg has 52 27" monitors and 40 of those are 1920 x 1080. In fact, 16:9 is by far the most common aspect ratio for all monitors of at least 1920 pixels in width. Again, from Newegg: 32 monitors @ 16:10 versus 302 monitors @ 16:9.

In any case, at 1920 wide, what is it about losing 120 pixels in height that makes a monitor go from useful to not useful? One could easily argue the opposite: given how many people watch video on their computers these days, it's more useful to have a screen that uses native 1080p than one that doesn't.

Yes, the extra pixels are a pretty big deal. 1200 vs 1080 is a bit more than 10%, which is definitely noticeable.

The reason you see so many 16:9 monitors is because they are a cheaper to make. The monitor industry is in the same race to the bottom that the memory and disk industries were in, so the cheaper they can make monitors, the more sales they get. It's also why the 16:9 monitors tend to be complete junk, because of the cheap = good mantra that so many consumers have.

Please find a different way of presenting these deals. Their appearance as a standard headline (esp in the list view) is bothersome.

I'm sorry you don't like it. At the time I write this, 8,000 people have read the story. That's a strong sign to me that many people do like these, and we are going to continue to run them through the end of the year.

7999, I just clicked so I could comment about how it's US centric. And if you're interested in getting views I imagine the title "[current pop celebrity] in nude tech-related scandal!" will also get you lots of views. Eyeball metrics aren't everything...

Also, let's not piss about, this is advertising, not content. It's not a story, it's an inline ad.

I clicked in hope that this ISN'T US-centric and got quite disappointed.

I promise you, at least one of the 8000 only clicked the article to try out this new voting system and vote up anybody who seemed to be complaining. Don't let your own bias influence you analysis of a metric as blunt as this too much.

Even 1% of that would have been 80 people. And 1% isn't much of a reason to do anything, metric-wise.

I've resigned myself to this new advertisement system. I'd be more bearable if these were SPECIAL deals, and not the same ones that were listed on just about every other tech-news site. Why bother with clicking through the tracking links, when you get the same thing with a 5sec search entry at the store's front page? (Except of course that you dont tell us who is actually selling it)

Please find a different way of presenting these deals. Their appearance as a standard headline (esp in the list view) is bothersome.

I'm sorry you don't like it. At the time I write this, 8,000 people have read the story. That's a strong sign to me that many people do like these, and we are going to continue to run them through the end of the year.

7999, I just clicked so I could comment about how it's US centric. And if you're interested in getting views I imagine the title "[current pop celebrity] in nude tech-related scandal!" will also get you lots of views. Eyeball metrics aren't everything...

Also, let's not piss about, this is advertising, not content. It's not a story, it's an inline ad.

How much does it cost to place an advertorial on Ars? Is it extra if it's got the byline of a respected author?

Wow lots of complaining that these deals aren't exactly what people would want. I don't mine seeing what deals are out there even if I'm not currently in the market for any of them. Thanks for the links Lee!

OCZ SSD? It may be a deal, but you still might end up paying the price.

Yeah, I didn't want to get into a brand war, but I suggest buying SSD with a name that rhymes with uh er Sintel, or Bintel or Kintel..

Samsung and Crucial are two go-to brands in the consumer space. Especially now that they're clearing out stocks of the 830 and M4, respectively. Excellent deals to be had.

I rather pay more. Nothing is worse than failing memory. I have a few years of history with intel SSD. Ooops, now I named it.

That's the thing: Samsung and Crucial have excellent reputations for reliability in the SSD space. The people in the OpenForum who work with SSDs recommend them without hesitation. OCZ is another story.

At the time I write this, 8,000 people have read the story. That's a strong sign to me that many people do like these, and we are going to continue to run them through the end of the year. They are clearly marked with the "Dealmaster" headline, and therefore should be easy to ignore.

Being respectful here...

I tend to read Ars by finding the oldest article I hadn't read yet and then hitting the "Newer Story" link at the bottom. I completely understand that Ars is trying to increase its ad revenue, and trust me when I say that when I'm finally ready to replace my laptop's old HDD with an SSD, I'll be clicking through in order to give support.

However, page reads are not an indication of interest. Click-throughs to the advertised deals would be a much stronger metric with which to measure how many people like these ads (please don't call them stories; people selling things isn't news unless somebody has a DIY Hadron Collider kit).